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strait helium and make shore its very clean.
what size are you planing on working with?
what is you experience level ??
the Dyn200DX would be much essayer to weld aluminum with. AC allows for cleaning wile welding.
if you have to use DC, it can be done. maybe some of the pro's will jump in and help out with the details. i have never tried it, i use AC with good results. but have heard of DC being used.

thanks for the help
......or..........
hope i helped feel free to shoot me an e-mail direct i have time to chat.james@newyorkmetalart.comsummer is here, plant a tree. if you don't have space or time to plant one sponsor some one else to plant one for you. a tree is an investment in our planet, help it out.
JAMES

DC and aluminum is for Mig machines.
It can be done but it's more of filling in holes and globing material on then welding. Very little control over what can barley be called a bead.
Sorry but you need AC.

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Good quality welds can be made with helium and DCEN bit the process is only really suitable for thick sections

Helium produces a 'hotter' arc (higher voltages than argon) making it a deep penetrating and fast process. Pre cleaning is more important (than with AC) and even then the weld pool is poorly defined. There will be some 'soot' on the surface of the weld

Factor in the increased costs associated with He (as well as being expensive, higher flow rates are required) and it's rarely practical for most people. Arc starting is also more difficult due to the higher ionization voltage of He

GMAW aluminium welds are done with DCEP, plenty of cathodic 'cleaning' action. DCEP with TIG puts far more heat into the tungsten- possible for very thin sections with a large tungsten but again not practical

he is working with 3/16" material. not the best option but with skill it can be done. again not the best choice, but if its the only option. grab up some stock and put in some practice time before risking the project. i would look at getting a good cleaning or etching solutions to aid the process.

i wish hawk was still here he used DC a lot, not by need but by choice. high skill levels were definitely in use.

thanks for the help
......or..........
hope i helped feel free to shoot me an e-mail direct i have time to chat.james@newyorkmetalart.comsummer is here, plant a tree. if you don't have space or time to plant one sponsor some one else to plant one for you. a tree is an investment in our planet, help it out.
JAMES

Fred,
I think Cannondale uses DC to weld their bicycle frames. They weld some insanly thin tubes. The welds look similar to a fillet brazed joint, very concaved, wide and unrippled. I think larger tungstons are needed, due to the polarity used. I don't know what sheilding gas they use. The frames are heat treated after welding.
Russ

As an experiment, with a 1/8 pure tungsten on 1/4" alum. running a bead using a dialarc HF It wasn't as bad as I expected. The oxide stays where it is, the filler flows beneath it. It doesn't make a pretty weld.